Days of Being Wild aka. The True Story of Ah Fei () is a 1991 Hong Kong movie by director Wong Kar-wai.

Often touted as the breakthrough film of director Wong, the film featured some of the most well-known actors and actresses of the then-colony, including Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung and Andy Lau. Tony Leung Chiu Wai made a cameo role lasting several minutes in the last take of the movie which he credits as a turning point in his acting career.

The movie forms the first part of an informal trilogy, together with In the Mood for Love (released in 2000) and 2046 (released in 2004).

Cast and roles include

• Leslie Cheung - Yuddy
• Maggie Cheung - Su Li Zhen. She grew up in Macau. She is a lover of Yuddy
• Andy Lau - Tide, policeman 6117. He becomes a friend and confident of Su Li Zhen. Later, after the death of his mother, he becomes a sailor
• Carina Lau - Leung Fung-ying, Mimi/Lulu. She is a lover of Yuddy
• Rebecca Pan - Rebecca, a former prostitute who raised Yuddy. Having revealed Yuddy that she is not his mother, she is reluctant to disclose the identity of his real mother
• Jacky Cheung - Zeb
• Danilo Antunes - Rebecca's Lover
• Hung Mei-Mei - The Amah
• Ling Ling-Hung - Nurse
• Tita Muñoz - Yuddy's Mother
• Alicia Alonzo - Housekeeper
• Elena Lim So - Hotel Manageress
• Maritoni Fernandez - Hotel Maid
• Angela Ponos - Prostitute
• Nonong Talbo - Train Conductor
• Tony Leung Chiu Wai - unrelated cameo appearance in the last scene of the movie

Plot details

The movie is set in Hong Kong and in the Philippines in 1960. Yuddy, or 'York' in English (Leslie Cheung), was a playboy in Hong Kong and was well-known for stealing girls' hearts and breaking them as is the usual theme for movies with a dashing and charismatic male lead. His first victim is Li Zhen (Maggie Cheung) who suffered emotional and mental depression as a result of Yuddy's wayward attitude eventually seeking much-needed solace from a goody two-shoes cop Tide (Andy Lau). Their near-romance was often hinted at although it never materialised.

York has forgotten his fling with the unassuming and shy Li Zhen and has set his attentions to a vivacious cabaret dancer played by Carina Lau who was also secretly loved by Zeb (Jacky Cheung). Unsurprisingly, York too dumps her and began a period of self-destruction. It later becomes evident that York's inability to commit and instict for romantic cruelty derives from conflicted feelings about his adoptive mother, a former prostitute, played by Rebecca Pan, and his biological mother, a Filipino aristocrat.

Most sections of the film attempts to narrate how often people and the common man on the street reacts to a love rejection although it was very vaguely depicted and this film was seen by many to be among the first of its kind to have a relatively simple plot but with much reliance on the individual strength of its many actors and actresses to narrate the story through their seemingly mundane day-to-day activities. "Days of Being Wild" broke away from the light fare that typified Hong Kong cinema at the time by introducing thematic ambiguity and an arthouse aesthetic. Many other Hong Kong films such as Ashes of Time, Temptress Moon, and the best example of all In the Mood for Love could be included in the same school of Hong Kong cinema.

Music

• Xavier Cugat
• Leslie Cheung performed the song 何去何从之阿飞正传 loosely translated as 'Choice' as the film's theme song and is also found in his album Most Beloved (宠爱).

Awards

• 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Movie Award
• 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards: Leslie Cheung, Best Actor Award Winner
• 1991 Hong Kong Film Awards: Rebecca Pan, nominated for Best Supporting Actress

See also

• Cinema of Hong Kong
• Christopher Doyle
• List of movies set in Hong Kong

External links

• Promotional website for US region